Infinite Terror: Infinite Reversal

Chapter 10: A Meaningless Analysis
"This is even worse!" Mu Xiang sighed. "To be honest, I was too clever for my own good. I did perform very well, but does that necessarily have anything to do with the clerical staff I bluffed about? It doesn't make any sense at all! A clerical staff member being the best in physical fitness among nearly ten security guards—isn't that bizarre? This was a huge mistake on my part." Mu Xiang was deliberately downplaying his performance; otherwise, standing out too much wouldn't be appropriate. In fact, he had deliberately obfuscated one thing: good physical fitness isn't a bad thing, but he had labeled himself as a clerical staff member, and that was the problem. If he had to choose again, he definitely wouldn't say he was a clerical staff member; he would only mention his physical fitness performance.

Zhan Lan understood immediately and couldn't help but rub her forehead: "It's a miracle we've survived until now..."

Mu Xiang chuckled and sighed, "Indeed, you're only suspected of being ordinary citizens, but my behavior could make me a suspected corporate spy or even a sabotage agent." Then he changed the subject, "But Zhan Lan, you're the one we least need to worry about!"

Zhan Lan was taken aback: "Why?"

As Mu Xiang walked forward, he looked around at the people around him and asked, "Who do you think is the most trusted by the mercenaries right now?"

"Zhang Jie!" Though whispered, everyone answered in unison. Mu Xiang knew that even though Zhang Jie was walking at the front and hadn't reacted, he could definitely hear him! After all, he was probably the strongest mental power controller in the Main God Space right now…

"Next question, who among us interacted with Zhang Jie the most?" Mu Xiang nodded and asked the next question with a smile.

Everyone turned to look at Zhan Lan, who blushed instantly—well, she probably thought it was that interaction… but Zhan Lan still pointed to herself: “It’s me?”

Mu Xiang laughed and said, "That's right! Zhang Jie was very willing to take you downstairs, which means he gave you a fairly convincing proof... Remember, we are Zhang Jie's colleagues. Zhang Jie is trusted, and we all benefit from it! And you are the one who benefits the most."

Seeing the others looking enlightened, Mu Xiang smiled to himself: Although he knew that this information wasn't actually that crucial, and that Zhan Lan could come up with it if she thought about it carefully, it wasn't nonsense; it was still useful.

Mu Xiang continued, "After saying all that, what I really want to tell everyone is to be careful in handling your relationship with mercenaries... Don't let them become more suspicious of us. For example, if the captain asks you to go on a reconnaissance trip and you refuse, wouldn't that be courting death? In the end, these so-called special forces are just Umbrella Corporation's private army. These mercenaries are not some kind of benevolent people..."

Hearing this, Mu Gang nodded repeatedly with admiration, "Young man, you're really amazing, much better than my son..."

Mu Xiang felt a chill run down his spine: You know what, Mu Gang, you're not really qualified to nod like this... You're the one who refused to enter the laser tunnel and got killed in the original story, right?
Zhan Lan continued, "Indeed, do you remember the opening scene of the movie? When they caught Matt, some mercenaries actually suggested just killing him to save trouble... Although we can't rule out the possibility of intimidation, it also shows that these mercenaries are dangerous people."

The others nodded in agreement.

According to the game's setting, mercenaries like the Umbrella Rapid Response Security Force are responsible for protecting property and destroying incriminating evidence... However, the movie's universe doesn't clearly distinguish between the USS, UBCS, and even the USF; the boundaries between the three are blurry... and translating USF as Umbrella Special Forces is also acceptable, which makes it a bit difficult to determine. But overall, their operating styles are largely the same.

Thinking of this, Mu Xiang nodded to Zhan Lan and added, "The last one is actually what Zheng Zha mentioned, the Red Queen! For example, the laser net..." As he said this, a shadow crossed Mu Xiang's face, and he felt a chill run down his spine. The others also changed their expressions. To say that the laser net was terrifying, it wasn't even a terrifying element; but it was just so ferocious and unreasonable that anyone who came would be cut to death.

"Most readers will probably say it's the laser channel, since it's a crucial plot point in the novel. Zheng Zha's first pot of gold after his cheat-like abilities came from the laser channel's B+5000!" Li Xiaoyi thought to himself. "Could it really be the butterfly effect of transmigrators, or some kind of randomness, causing someone not in the original story to enter the reincarnation world? But this reasoning doesn't seem to hold water; the explanation and the identity have no necessary connection... Damn it, it's all just trivial details, nothing is certain!"

Mu Xiang, of course, had no idea that Li Xiaoyi was considering such trivial matters. He simply didn't want to appear weak or show fear of the laser network... because the members of the Reincarnation Team had absolutely no reason to believe they would enter the laser corridor at this moment! If he showed fear by merely giving an example, it might arouse suspicion later. Not to mention, he also had to be wary of Li Xiaoyi; Li Xiaoyi's various unusual behaviors towards him made him directly apply the logic of the Dark Forest theory.

While managing his expression, he mentally bolstered his spirits and continued, "Actually, all of this can be traced back to the Red Queen! The Red Queen is a major threat to us. Aside from risking our lives to shut her down, we're practically powerless against her… In a sense, the Red Queen is even more terrifying than the Lickers! But! We can reasonably avoid her, and even… uh, let's hear my opinion later. Explaining it now would be too complicated and is an immature idea." "In short, we face three threats: monsters, mercenaries, and the Red Queen. Remember, this is the underlying logic of all our subsequent actions!" Mu Xiang quickly summarized, giving everyone another reminder. The Red Queen's situation was actually quite easy to explain. Mu Xiang wasn't deliberately keeping them in suspense; it was just that they were about to arrive at their next destination, and there wasn't time to elaborate. Everyone understood and stopped the discussion, observing their surroundings.

Too much rambling, the same old problem, the speech went on for too long... Mu Xiang mentally assessed himself.

Before them stood another iron gate, but much smaller than the main entrance to the Hive, resembling an elevator door. Kaplan used his computer to open the gate, and then the men in the front row cautiously entered, guns at their sides.

This was a vast hall filled with countless small shipping containers, each several cubic meters in volume, emanating a chilling aura. Anyone who has seen Resident Evil knows that this is the warehouse for the Frozen Lickers. Once the main computer is shut down, these terrifying bio-weapons will be released, their power far exceeding that of zombies.

Kaplan looked at the computer, a little confused, and said, "This is Restaurant B... that's what the map says."

James walked over to him and looked at the computer, while the mercenary named J.D. said rudely, "Maybe you're seeing things."

[Restaurant B is probably slang for the core members of the Hive... I strongly suspect that many Hive employees have no idea what kind of work is done there. They might only be responsible for non-core experiments and tasks? For example, Matt's sister, who infiltrated the Hive, only gathered information on viruses at the genetic level, not anything related to bioweapons.]

Besides, this place doesn't look like a restaurant at all. Would you fill your restaurant with shipping containers and use them as private rooms?

Mu Xiang sneered inwardly as he stood at the back, watching the group struggling with the map. This was less of a beehive's restaurant and more of a monsters' restaurant…

While still handcuffed, Matt said from the side, "Maybe there are some secrets hidden here, secrets that the company doesn't want the outside world to know... things you shouldn't see."

James simply looked at him calmly, then said to the men around him, "J.D., Ryan, Zhang Jie, you guys stay here and watch the prisoners, then guard the exit."

Mu Xiang thought to himself, "You really don't consider yourself an outsider, buddy. It's a pity they don't treat you like a human being at all." And why would the mercenaries send three people just to prove that this suspect was a complete weakling? This arrangement shows they don't take the mission seriously.

At this moment, another female mercenary—who appeared to be a medic—suddenly said, "Sir, the fire extinguishing agent level here is zero. I think the defense system here has failed."

[Some translators render "halon" in the original English audio as "poison gas," I'm not sure if that's a mistranslation... but given Umbrella Corporation's track record, I do suspect that "fire extinguishing agent" is slang for poison gas... but that's a minor issue.]

These analyses are indeed not very insightful, mainly based on the original novel and the movie's plot. As everyone knows, Z watched a pirated DVD (not really). When I write about these horror movies, I watch them several times to ensure the details are accurate, and my analysis is generally well-reasoned. Also, thank you all for your support and for the recommendation votes. Thank you.

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(End of this chapter)